'Comic Con India’s Bengaluru edition is to be its biggest yet': Jatin Varma, founder
The 8th edition of the Maruti Suzuki Arena Bengaluru Comic Con will be held on November 16 and 17 this year. Here is a curtain-raiser on the event…
Comic Con India, India’s greatest pop culture experience, is back with its next edition of Bengaluru Comic Con, that will be held this weekend from 11:00 am to 8:00 pm at the KTPO Centre, Whitefield. The two-day long extravaganza is all set to get grander this year, as it is powered by a line-up of many Indian and international creators, performances, gaming and experiential zones from the world’s leading studios.
Jatin Varma, Founder of Comic Con India, gives us the lowdown on the festival….
Jatin Varma
What are the highlights of the Bangalore Comicon this year?
This year Bangalore Comic Con will be headlined by popular international stars and artists from the comics and cosplaying fraternity.
Fans will get a chance to interact with the immensely popular webcomics creator Adam Ellis, also known for his earlier work on BuzzFeed. Writer and artist for fan-favourite franchises like Samurai Jack and Tank Girl, Warwick Johnson-Cadwell will be joined by Sydney-based international Cosplay star, Amenokitarou (A.K. Wirru).
We are also hosting WWE Superstar Charlotte Flair and featuring an exciting line-up for live entertainment, with comedians Sundeep Rao and Sanjay Manaktala, mentalist Narpath Raman and Duality, The Void.
There are new Costume Play (Cosplay) formats with a total prize pool of Rs. 4 Lacs for Indian Championship of Cosplay 2019 Bengaluru Qualifier and Bengaluru Cosplay Championship 2019.
Archie comics have never lost their popularity
One of the most unique things about Comic Con India this year will be the new Archie ComicConIndia Comic book collaboration. This pathbreaking comic will see the immensely popular characters of Archie comics featured in India and take on some once-in-a-lifetime adventures, at our very own Comic Con India!
Where and how did Comic Con begin?
It started off as a personal quest back in 2011 and gradually developed in to a venture. We started with an inaugural show in February of 2011 in Delhi and attracted close to 5000 visitors. Over the years since CCI expanded to 5 cities; Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune.
Comic Con holds a convention every year in different cities
How have the preferences for comics changed nowadays?
The love for comics has certainly increased over the years, but it is not restricted to books. It includes movies, merchandise, toys, games and more. Comics are directly and indirectly inspiring more amazing content.
What do you hope to achieve with each convention? How has it been received so far?
Our aim to introduce the Comic Con experience to as many new people each year as possible and get everyone to showcase and celebrate the fandom that they are passionate about.
On the business side of it, we aim for all our exhibitors, partners and participants to have a successful show and market themselves to this niche audience in the best way possible.
According to you, why are comics so important?
Comics are all about innovative story telling
In my opinion, comics are the one of the best forms of storytelling and that keeps bringing me back to them.
What is your advice to those who want to get into the profession of ‘comics’?
Don't view your work purely from a publishing perspective, look at it from a larger content creation perspective.
What do you hope will happen as an outcome for this Comic Con? What are your plans and dreams for the future with regards to Comic Con?
We hope to put together amazing experience for the fans attending the show, making it the best weekend of the year. We are delighted to bring a bigger and better version of Bengaluru Comic Con in 2019, and I’m particularly excited about our new cosplay format. On the future, we hope to expand to more cities and bring the experiences to thousands of more fans across the country.
